


How Soon Is Now

by lielabell



Category: Power Rangers
Genre: Community: kissbingo, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-29
Updated: 2011-12-29
Packaged: 2017-10-28 10:45:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/307053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lielabell/pseuds/lielabell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Why are you here?” he demanded, wincing a little at the petulant tone in his voice.</p><p>Jason and Kim shared a look, then Jason turned as far towards Tommy as his seat would allow and put a hand on his knee. “Because we’re friends.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Soon Is Now

**Author's Note:**

> Companion piece: Second_Batgirl's [Change That Severs Me](http://second-batgirl.livejournal.com/737850.html)

“Rocky was right, he headed straight for the bar,” Kim said with a shake of her head and Tommy wanted to say that he hadn’t headed straight for the bar. He’d headed for her old place. But she hadn’t been there and he didn’t know where else to go. He’d driven in circles for awhile, until the neon lights had come on and oblivion beckoned. He opened his mouth, then shut it again, not wanting her to know that she had been what he turned to, even after all this time.

Jason let out a sigh as he moved to Tommy’s side. “Easy there,” he grunted as he slipped his arm around Tommy’s shoulders and hefted him to his feet.

Tommy let himself be maneuvered out of the bar and pass his own car into a small subcompact with a rent-a-car license plate frame. It wasn’t until he was tucked into the backseat with a blanket that his inebriated brain realized that neither of them should have been in town, let along looking for him.

“Why are you here?” he demanded, wincing a little at the petulant tone in his voice.

Jason and Kim shared a look, then Jason turned as far towards Tommy as his seat would allow and put a hand on his knee. “Because we’re friends.”

Tommy snorted and shoved his hand away. “We aren’t friends. Friends don’t just disappear on each other. Or break up with each other through a letter. Or never, ever return calls." He scowled at both of them and then crossed his arms over his chest, daring them to say different.

Kim’s knuckles whitened as she clutched the wheel and she let out a little squeak of protest. This time Jason’s soothing hand rested on her knee and Tommy felt that knot of bitterness in the pit of his stomach grow. Still scowling, he turned to the window and tried not to speculate on how things now stood between the pair in the front seat.

“I’m not going to say that you don’t have a point,” Jason said slowly, “it’s not easy being a former Ranger. Especially not when you are constantly being reminded that other people are out there saving the world and you aren’t. And maybe Kim and I let our relationship with you slip because of it. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t still your friends.”

Tommy swallowed past a lump in his throat. The Power Rangers would still be out there saving the world and he wouldn’t be one of them. He hadn’t known that thoughts could burn. God, he needed another drink.

“No you don’t.”

It took a moment for Tommy to figure out that he had spoken the thought aloud and that Kim wasn’t a mind reader after all. He made a face. “How would you know? It’s not like you got told you weren’t good enough. You left on your own. To follow your dreams.”

“Tommy,” Jason started, but Tommy cut him off.

“And you threw it all away to be at some stupid peace conference, which I never understood at all. How could you possibly think that talking about peace would be a better way for you to help the world than fighting off Rita and the forces of evil?” Tommy shook his head. “I just don’t understand it.”

“No, I don’t suppose you would.” Jason’s voice was soft and there was an undercurrent to it that made Tommy feel like the world’s biggest heel.

Kim reached out and touched Jason’s shoulder. “We knew this would be hard when we volunteered for the job,” she murmured. “Let’s not make things any more difficult than they need to be, alright?” Jason nodded, his hand coming up to rest on hers. He squeezed it gently and she smiled in response.

Tommy watched them, jealousy eating away at him. “Always the voice of reason,” he said bitterly.

Kim chose not to respond, not surprising him in least. She’d stopped reacting to him years ago. Jason, on the other hand, felt the need to reach back and pat him on the knee again.

Tommy batted it away once more, hoping this time Jason would get the message.

The car stopped and Tommy barely waited for Kim to put it in park before struggling free of his seat belt and getting out. He had planned on storming up to his house and slamming the door in their face, but that plan went down the drain when he took stock of his surroundings. He was not his standing in front of his house. He was standing in front of a run down apartment building.

“What the hell?”

“It’s not much,” Jason said as he clapped a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, “But it’s home.”

Tommy must have looked as confused as he felt, because Kim clucked sympathetically and explained. “We couldn’t take you home. Not with you smelling like a distillery. I called your house and talked to your mom. I told her that the old crew was in town and that we were going to surprise you. She knows not to expect you home.”

Tommy nodded weakly, hoping that his mother would not start pestering him about “that nice Hart girl.” It was hard enough without having his mother constantly bringing her up to him.

“Come on.” Jason gently applied pressure to Tommy’s shoulders, and Tommy began to stumble in what he hoped was the right direction.

*~*~*

Tommy rinsed his face off, the cool water feeling good against his skin, then dried it off with a fluffy blue towel. Blue. Not red. Not that it should have been red, but still. Something about that simple fact made it all sink in. He wasn’t a Ranger any more. Just like Jason wasn’t. And he would have to make something of his life, just like Jason had. Move into some crap apartment somewhere and carve out some crap existence while someone else wore his color and defended the world.

He dropped the towel and rushed to the toilet. Tommy pushed up the lid and vomited, not knowing if it was the alcohol or the situation he know found himself in that was causing the churning in his stomach. Hot tears slid down his face and he didn’t even bother to wipe them away. Instead he rested his cheek against the smooth porcelain and tried his hardest not to think about anything.

There was a tap at the door and then a soft, “Are you okay?”

 _No, I’m not okay. What sort of a stupid question is that?”_ Tommy thought viciously, but he only said, “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a sec. Got to rinse out my mouth.”

“There’s a spare toothbrush,” Jason offered.

“Thanks.” Tommy pushed to his feet and flushed the toilet. He flipped down the lid and walked back to the sink. The mirror was not kind. It showed the red rimmed eyes, chalky complexion and tear stained cheeks with no compassion at all. Tommy took it in dispassionately before flicking off the light and brushing his teeth in the dark.

*~*~*

He could hear voices coming from the kitchen when he left the bathroom. Tommy took a few steps in that direction then caught his name in the mix of soft words and decided to head for the living room instead. When he got there, however, he had no idea what to do. He could sit on the faded sofa and turn on the TV, but doing that seemed presumptuous somehow. So he settled for moving to the bookshelf and pretending to study its contents.

The books seemed of a more serious nature than he would have expected from Jason and Tommy was intrigued despite himself. He picked up one book on the psychological effects of trauma and flipped through the pages. To his surprise, almost every page was marred with Jason’s untidy scrawl. Tommy frowned and snapped the book shut, feeling discombobulated. He had never really thought of Jason as being very smart. Jason was a great fighter and a good leader, but he wasn’t Billy.

Still feeling unsettled, Tommy moved towards the sofa. Suddenly flipping on the TV seemed a whole lot less invasive. He sat down, then glanced around for the remote. It was on a small side table, next to a couple of snapshots in cheap frames. Tommy grinned when he saw the photo of Zack, Trini and Jason standing under a giant banner that read “Welcome to the First International Peace Conference.” The grin disappeared, though, when he caught sight of what was stuck in the frame.

It was a narrow strip of four grainy black and white pictures, the sort of thing you typically get taken in one of those photo booths at the fair. The first three pictures where of Kim and Jason making silly faces at the camera, but the fourth sent a sharp stab of jealous deep into the heart of him. Because in the fourth photo Kim and Jason weren’t looking at the camera at all. Instead they were staring intensely at each other, clearly moments away from a passionate kiss.

“Tommy?”

Tommy’s head jerked up. Kim was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face.

“Are you alright?”

He blinked at her, then glanced back down at the photos in his hand. “I, uh,” he didn’t continue. There was nothing he could say.

Kim followed his gaze and then let out a curse. “Jason,” she bellowed as she crossed the room. “Tommy, I didn’t want you to find out this way. I swear I didn’t.”

“Find what out?” Jason asked as he entered the room at a trot.

Tommy held out the photos towards him. "I thought you and Zack were together," Tommy said instead of blurting out "I thought you were gay," which is what had been running through his mind from the second he saw the stupid thing.

Jason scratched his neck. “Uh, we were. But things sort of fell apart after we stopped being Rangers. It’s hard enough adjusting to normal life without someone there who is a constant reminder of how things use to be.”

Tommy looked pointedly at Kim. “And she doesn’t count?”

“I wasn’t the one who had the problem.” Jason let out a sigh. “Zack was.”

“Things ended badly between them,” Kim said softly. “Jason was understandably upset. He contacted me because he knew I was going through the same sort of thing and we just, I don’t know, clicked.”

“You were going through the same sort of thing?” Tommy gave her an incredulous look. “Excuse me, but I’m the one with the broken heart. And you’re the one holding the hammer. If anyone went through the same sort of thing, it was me.”

Kim flushed. “I wasn’t a Ranger anymore, okay. And you still were. Besides, I was in Florida and you and Kat were, well,” her voice trailed off.

“Kat had a crush on me,” Tommy ground out. “And, sure, I thought she was cute. But I was with you. I wanted to be with you.” He made a frustrated noise. “Screw this. I’m going home.” He tossed down the photo strip and stumbled towards the door.

Jason cut him off, hands upraised. “I know you’re upset, but don’t do anything rash.”

“Rash?” Tommy spluttered as he dashed away tears. “God. I should have known. I should have known the second I saw you two together in that stupid cave.”

Kim shook her head, but it was Jason who spoke. “I’ll admit, that bought us closer together, but Kim and I were just friends at the time.”

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, sure.” He heaped all his disbelief into those two words. He shook his head, his hands balling into fists. “You don’t want me, Kat made it clear she doesn’t want me, hell, even Zordon doesn’t want me. Thanks a lot, guys. Thanks for making that perfectly clear.

“Tommy!” Kim’s voice was a mix of pain and surprise. Tommy glanced towards her and was shocked to see tears in her eyes as well. Then Jason moved in fast and wrapped his arms around Tommy, shocking him even more.

“We want you,” Jason said huskily, arms tightening around Tommy as Kim made her way to them. “Don’t we, Kim?”

“We?” Tommy looked from one to the other, his eyes wide with surprise.

Kim nodded and Jason opened his arms, giving her space to tuck herself up against them. “We want you very much,” she said softly, her lips brushing softly against the underside of his jaw. “And we’re here to help you get through this. For as long as it takes, not matter what.” She added her arms to the pair already surrounding him and Tommy felt the something flutter to life inside of him.

“For as long as it takes,” Tommy repeated, his mind filling with here to unknown visions of the future. Maybe the life he made didn’t have to be a crappy one. It wouldn’t be the one he had pictured himself having, one filled with Zords and battles to the death, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t still be good, something to look forward to.


End file.
